India beat Pakistan 4-3 as Green-shirts remain winless in FIH Pro League

LONDON: India handed Pakistan a narrow 4-3 defeat in an eventful FIH Pro Hockey League match at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre on Tuesday, leaving the Green-shirts still without a win in the nine-team tournament.

The result was Pakistan’s 13th straight defeat in the competition, while India also extended their unbeaten run against Pakistan in competitive matches since 2016, when the Green-shirts last beat their rivals.

Pakistan made the brighter start and went ahead in the seventh minute when Nadeem Ahmed converted a penalty corner. Despite India seeing more of the ball in the opening phase, Pakistan held their lead through the first quarter.

Momentum shifted in the second quarter as India increased pressure and made use of repeated circle entries. After Pakistan goalkeeper Ali Raza made several saves, Abhishek brought India level in the 21st minute. Two minutes later, Nilakanta Sharma put India 2-1 ahead.

Pakistan created openings late in the second quarter, with Rana Waheed Ashraf standing out in midfield, but they were unable to restore parity before the interval.

India stayed on top after the break and added a third goal through Sukhjeet Singh in the 39th minute. Pakistan could not capitalise on a penalty corner near the end of the third quarter, and India stretched their advantage further when Rajinder Singh scored in the 51st minute.

Pakistan continued to push in the closing stages and reduced the margin through skipper Abu Bakr Mahmood in the 53rd minute. Moin Shakeel added another goal in the final minute, but Pakistan were unable to find an equaliser before the whistle.

Former four-time world champions Pakistan are playing in the third and final leg of the 2025-26 Pro League season. They have lost all of their matches on tours to Argentina, Australia and Belgium in this league campaign. With less than two months remaining before the World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium from Aug 15 to 30, the continued winless run comes at a difficult time for the side.

FIH apologises over flag error

The International Hockey Federation also issued an apology after Pakistan’s flag was displayed incorrectly on the field before the start of the match. The flag shown had only green colour, with the white portion missing.

In a media release issued soon after the match, the FIH said: "Following the incorrect display of Pakistan’s flag during the FIH Hockey Pro League match today in London, England, FIH would like to apologise unreservedly for this error."

The governing body said it recognised that a national flag is a significant symbol of identity, pride and representation, and regretted any offence caused to the Pakistan team, supporters, the public and the national federation.

"The FIH takes full responsibility for this operational mistake and will be reviewing its processes to ensure that similar errors do not occur in the future," it added.

The FIH also said it had sent an official apology to the Pakistan Hockey Federation.